Stuffing-box.



I III" TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM R. COLLINS, OF CHICAGO; ILLINOIS;

STUFFING IBGX.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. COLLINS, a citizen of the United. States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain. new and useful Improvements in Stufiing-Boxes, ofwhich the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings. V

This invention relates to. an improved stuffing box which is moreparticularly designed for use in connection with machines actuated bycompressed air, such for in stance as the drilling or tunneling machinedisclosed in Patent No. 1,000,075,. issued to me August 8, 1911.

The present invention has for'itsprincipal object the provision. ofimproved means for tightening the packing rings or gaskets arranged inthe stuffing. box, whereby the escape of the compressed air iseffectually prevented.

The invention has foranother important object the provision of meansmounted in the gear wheel fixed upon the drumor other journal throughthe medium. of which the packing gland which rotates within the stuflingbox may be moved longitudinally to compress and tighten the gaskets.

Another object of the inventionis to provide a ring or annulusSGCUIQCLHPOII adrum, a second metal ring mounted upon said annulus,packing rings engaged against the op.- posite edges of said metalringand means for holding the same against rotation with relationthereto, said metal rings having. coinciding openings to receive airfrom achamber provided in the packing box, the drum having longitudinalair passages toconduct the air to the drills or other parts to beoperated, a gear wheel fixed upon one end of the drum to rotate thesame, and set screws threaded in the gear wheel and engaged with thepacking gland to move the same longitudinally and compress the packingrings.

The invention has for stillanother object to produce an improved.stuffing box construction which is comparatively simple and highlyefficient. and serviceable in practical.

use, and is adaptable to comnressedsair. op,- erated drills of variousconstructions withmanufacture.

With the above and other objects in view,

Specification of Lett'ersPatent Application filed: 3' one 14, 1913.

Patented Feb. 17, 1 914. Serial No. 773,727..

the invention consists in the novel: features of construction and thecombination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described,pointed out in the claims, and shown in. the accompanying. drawings, inwhich Figure l is a longitudinal section through one end of. a drum uponwhich the cutting head carrying drills are adapted to be mounted. Fig. 2isa; section taken on the lin 22-.of Fig.1. Fig. 3 is a section takenon. the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Referring in detail tothe drawing 5 designates a portiomof. a supportingframe which is provided with an extension 6 forming a bearing, for thedrum 7. This drum in the illustrated application of my invention, isadapted to carry the revoluble cutting head, upon which the drills aremounted, and the same is provided in its wall with a plurality of.longitudinal. passages 8, said passages corresponding. in number to thenumber of drill carriers. employed Air is conducted by these passages tothe several drills, the air being. supplied to the passages through myimproved stufling box in the manner to be later described The extension6 of the frame is'reduced in diameter and longitudinally extended, asshown at. 9, said frame extension in its large portionbeingprovided withan air chamber 10 to which compressed air is adapted to be supplied fromany suitable source in the usual. manner. One end of the drum isextended-.beyond-the reduced portion 9 of the frame andupon the same agear wheelll is fixed, through. the medium of which the drum isrevolved. This gear is actuated by means of any suitable mechanism (notshown): It will be understood, as indicated at 12, that: the wall. ofthe revolving drum whichextends through the stuffing box and beyond thesame, is reduced in thickness, and uponthis reduced portion of the drum,a cast iron ring. or annulus 13 is securely fixed by means of the screws14:, said screws having. their heads countersunk in the inner face-ofthedrum, as shown- At one end of the annulus 13, the same is provided wit-han annular recess or chamber 15 and with the same a. plurality of spacedslots or notches 16 formed inthe end of the annulus 13 communicate. Thelongitudinal passages 8 the wallv ofthe drum are at all times incommunication with the annular chamber 15 of the annulus 13. Upon thisannulus a metal ring 17, preferably of brass, is arranged. The edges ofthis ring are oppositely inclined, as shown at 18, and adjacent to oneedge the ring is provided with a circular series of openings 19 whichafford communication between the general air sup ply chamber 10 and theannular chamber 15. The drum 7 is provided wit-h an annular shoulder 20which is beveled or inclined oppositely to the opposed beveled edge 18of the ring 17.

21 designates a pair of packing rings or gaskets constructed of anysuitable material. One of these rings is disposed between the inclinedshoulder 20 and the opposed beveled edge 18 of the ring 17 and the otherpacking ring is arranged between the opposite beveled edge of the ring17 and the opposed beveled edge 23 of the metal packing gland 22. Thismetal gland is closely engaged against the inner face of the reducedextension 9 of the frame bearing and is longitudinally movable withrespect to the metal annulus 13. At its outer end the gland 22 isprovided with an inwardly extending annular flange 2a in which aplurality of sockets 25 are formed, the purpose of which will be laterexplained.

The packing rings or gaskets 21 are held against rotation with respectto the rings 17 by means of a plurality of pins 26 which projectlaterally from the opposite edges of the ring 17 and engage in socketsor recesses formed in the packing rings. If desired, in lieu of theseretaining pins, the beveled edges 18 of the ring 17 may be roughened orserrated so that they will grip the packing rings and counteract thetendency of the same to turn or rotate independently with said ring.

In order to compress the packing rings and tighten the same against thewall of the bearing and the periphery of the drum and the ring 13, Iprovide a plurality of screws 27, which have threaded engagement, in thehub of the gear 11, as shown. These screws have reduced cylindricalextensions 28 formed on one end for engagement in the sockets orrecesses 25 of the packing gland 22. As the flange 241 of the packinggland is spaced from the outer end face of the annulus 13, it will beobvious that by simply adjusting the screws 27 in the hub of the gearwheel, the packing gland 22 will be forced inwardly to move theoutermost packing ring 21 and the metal. ring 17, thereby compressingthe inner packing ring 21, while a further adjustment compresses ortightens the outer packing ring. In this manner itwill be obvious thatthe escape of air from the chamber 10 around the annulus 17 and gland 22or between the drum and the supporting frame or bearing, is effectuallyprevented. The air, however, is continually supplied to the drillsduring the rotation of the drum through the coinciding openings andrecesses 19 and 16 to the passages 8.

A suitable lubricant may be supplied to the packing rings 21 through theducts 29 formed in the frame bearing, feed cups 30 being threaded insaid bearing at the outer end of the ducts whereby the grease or otherlubricant may be forcibly fed to the packing rings.

While in the drawings, I have illustrated only so much of the machine asis necessary to enable the invention to be clearly compre' hended, itwill be understood that both sides of the drum bearing are identical.

It is also to be remembered that the pres ent invention is not limitedin its utility or application to a drilling or tunneling ma chine, butis obviously applicable to all other machines which utilize compressedair as an actuating medium.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, it is believed that the construction and manner of operation ofmy machine will be understood.

The invention as a whole is extremely simple in its construction, and itwill, therefore, be at once appreciated that the same is highly durableas well as reliable and eflieient in practical use. The several elementsemployed being all of simple form, may be manufactured at small cost,and readily replaced when necessary by new parts.

While I have shown and described the preferred construction and.arrangement of the various parts, it will be understood that myinvention is susceptible of considerable modification therein, and Ihave reserved the right to resort to all such legitimate changes as maybe fairly embodied within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed, is:

1. The combination with a bearing, and a journal to rotate therein, ametal ring arranged between the journal and its bearing for movementindependently thereof, packing rings engaged with the opposite edges ofsaid metal rin a longitudinally movable metal packing gland arranged inthe bearing and engaged with one of said packing rings, a gear wheelfixed upon one end of the journal, and means adjustable in said wheeland engaging said packing gland to move the same in the bearing and compress the packing rings, said means also connecting said gland to thegear wheel for rotation therewith.

2. The combination with a bearing, and a journal to rotate therein, saidjournal having an annular shoulder, of a metal ring arranged upon thejournal within said bearing, compressible packing rings engaged by theopposite edges of the metal ring, one of said packing rings engaging theannular shoulder of the journal, a longitudinally movable metallicpacking gland arranged in the bearing and engaging the other packingring, and means for adjusting said gland to move said metallic ringlongitudinally in the bearing and compress the packing rings against theedges thereof and against the bearing wall.

3. The combination with a bearing and a journal to rotate therein, saidbearing being provided with a fluid receiving chamber, said journalhaving longitudinal channels therein, of a metallic ring arrangedbetween the journal and the bearing and provided with a series ofopenings aflording communication between the bearing chamber and saidchannels, packing rings arranged at the opposite ends of the metal ringand means to prevent rotation of the packing rings with relation to themetal ring, said journal having an annular shoulder against which one ofthe packing rings is adapted to seat, and means longitudinally movablewithin the bearing and engaging the other packing ring to move the sameand the metal ring longitudinally with respect to the journal andcompress said packing rings against the edges of the metal ring and thewall of the bearing.

a. The combination with a bearing and a journal mounted to rotatetherein, said hearing having a fluid receiving chamber, said journalprovided with a plurality of longitudinal passages, of an annulusarranged within the bearing and fixed upon the j ournal, a metal ringengaged upon the annulus and arranged between the same and the fluidchamber of the bearing, said annulus having a fluid receiving chamber,said metal ring being provided with a series of openings connecting thechamber of the annulus with the chamber of the bearing, said journalbeing provided with an annular shoulder, packing rings arranged at theopposite ends of the metal ring, one of said packing rings being adaptedto seat against the shoulder of the journal, a longitudinally movablemetal packing gland arranged in the bearing and disposed between theannulus on the journal and the wall of the bearing,'and means for movingsaid packing gland to move said metal ring longitudinally and compressthe packing rings against the edges thereof and the wall of the journal.

5. The combination with a bearing and a journal to rotate therein, saidbearing having a fluid receiving chamber and the journal provided with aplurality of longitudinal passages, a gear fixed upon the journal torotate the same, of an annulus secured upon said journal within thebearing, a metal ring arranged between the annulus and the bearing wall,said annulus having a fluid receiving chamber formed therein, said ringbeing provided with a plurality of openings connect-ing the chamber inthe bearing and the chamber in said annulus, the passages in the journalbeing in communication with the latter chamber, packin rings arranged atthe opposite ends of said metal ring, said journal being provided withan annular shoulder against which one of the packing rings seats, agland longitudinally movable in the bearing and engaged with the otherpacking ring, and means mounted in the gear wheel for adjusting saidgland to move the packing rings and said metal ring and compress thepacking rings against the wall of the bearing.

6. The combination with a bearing, and a journal mounted to rotatetherein,'said journal being provided with an annular shoulder, a gearwheel fixed on said journal to rotate the same, a metal ring arranged 7between the journal and the bearing, packing rings arranged at theopposite ends of the metal ring, one of said packing rings being adaptedto seat against the shoulder on the journal, a metal packing glandlongitudinally movable in the bearing and engaging the other of thepacking rings and a plurality of adjusting screws threaded in the gearwheel and bearing against the packing gland to move the same in thebearing and compress the packing rings against the opposite edges of themetal ring and against the wall of the bearing.

7. The combination with a journal hearing and a journal to rotatetherein, of a metal ring mounted upon the journal between the same andits bearing, pins projecting from opposite edges of said ring, packingrings arranged for engagement with the opposite edges of the metal ring,

and means for compressing said packing rings against the edges of themetal ring and the wall of the bearing, whereby the pins in the metalring will be embedded in the packing rings and hold the packing ringsagainst rotation relative to the metal ring.

In testimony whereof I hereunto alfix my signature in the presence oftwo witnesses. WILLIAM R. COLLINS. Witnesses:

E. W. CoLLINs, STEPHEN G. MARTIN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

